Show HN: lambda-nat-proxy – Serverless proxy using Lambda and UDP NAT punching

https://github.com/dan-v/lambda-nat-proxy

18•danvittegleo•7mo ago

Revisited an old experiment of mine (https://github.com/dan-v/awslambdaproxy): can AWS Lambda functions work as network proxies? This time using UDP NAT hole punching + QUIC tunnels.

Client discovers public IP via STUN, writes session data to S3, which triggers a Lambda. Both endpoints punch UDP holes through their NATs, then establish a QUIC connection for encrypted traffic forwarding.

Comments

danfritz•7mo ago

Looks cool but how much does it cost?

danvittegleo•7mo ago

Like most things with AWS, it’s tricky to pin down exactly - and it’ll probably cost more than you’d expect once you factor in Lambda invocations, GB-seconds of execution time, S3 request fees, and especially data‐transfer charges.

js4ever•7mo ago

10x the original cost it's trying to avoid probably

pbnjay•7mo ago

Probably gets pretty costly if you’re running a lot of data through it. Now if you could implement a Tailscale DERP server in a lambda that would be pretty amazing: https://tailscale.com/kb/1232/derp-servers

danvittegleo•7mo ago

I did toy around with Tailscale initially trying to get it to spin up as an exit node but wasn't able to get that functional. I did manage to get Tailscale Funnel to work as the tunnel mechanism to Lambda, but unfortunately the performance was really poor.

shayonj•7mo ago

Very interesting concept. I’d love some cheap and “throw away” method of setting up tunnels with minimal onus on the exit nodes.

robcohen•7mo ago

Alternatively, you could make a Nix flake that can generate an immutable microVM image based on Solo5, running a MirageOS unikernel that implements NAT traversal with UDP hole punching and relay fallback. This image can be deployed to Fly.io as a lightweight, autoscaling Firecracker VM with per-second billing. It boots in milliseconds and costs far less than Lambda.

Any reason to use lambda vs this cloud-agnostic approach? Maybe I am missing something. I guess per second vs per 100ms billing, but I can't imagine it ends up being cheaper with Lambda.

danvittegleo•7mo ago

Absolutely - there are plenty of more cost-effective, cloud-agnostic ways to build something like this. This is just an experiment to explore Lambda networking and push it beyond its intended use cases.

robcohen•7mo ago

Sure, I think it's an awesome effort. Just trying to think of an agnostic approach that's more efficient.

wredcoll•7mo ago

I honestly thought this post was satire for at least 30 seconds.

robcohen•7mo ago

I'm not trying to disparage the attempt, just thinking of a way to make it's end goal more agnostic and efficient.

Show HN: Poddley.com – Follow people, not podcasts

Layoffs Surge 118% in January – The Highest Since 2009

Papyrus 114: Homer's Iliad

DicePit – Real-time multiplayer Knucklebones in the browser

Turn-Based Structural Triggers: Prompt-Free Backdoors in Multi-Turn LLMs

Show HN: AI Agent Tool That Keeps You in the Loop

Why Every R Package Wrapping External Tools Needs a Sitrep() Function

Achieving Ultra-Fast AI Chat Widgets

Show HN: Runtime Fence – Kill switch for AI agents

Researchers surprised by the brain benefits of cannabis usage in adults over 40

Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist, apocalypse linked to the 'end of modernity'

USS Preble Used Helios Laser to Zap Four Drones in Expanding Testing

Show HN: Animated beach scene, made with CSS

An update on unredacting select Epstein files – DBC12.pdf liberated

Was going to share my work

Pitchfork: A devilishly good process manager for developers

You Are Here

Why social apps need to become proactive, not reactive

How patient are AI scrapers, anyway? – Random Thoughts

Vouch: A contributor trust management system

I built a terminal monitoring app and custom firmware for a clock with Claude

Tiny C Compiler

Y Combinator Founder Organizes 'March for Billionaires'

Ask HN: Need feedback on the idea I'm working on

OpenClaw Addresses Security Risks

Apple finalizes Gemini / Siri deal

Italy Railways Sabotaged

Emacs-tramp-RPC: high-performance TRAMP back end using MsgPack-RPC

Nintendo Wii Themed Portfolio

"There must be something like the opposite of suicide "

Show HN: Poddley.com – Follow people, not podcasts

Layoffs Surge 118% in January – The Highest Since 2009

Papyrus 114: Homer's Iliad

DicePit – Real-time multiplayer Knucklebones in the browser

Turn-Based Structural Triggers: Prompt-Free Backdoors in Multi-Turn LLMs

Show HN: AI Agent Tool That Keeps You in the Loop

Why Every R Package Wrapping External Tools Needs a Sitrep() Function

Achieving Ultra-Fast AI Chat Widgets

Show HN: Runtime Fence – Kill switch for AI agents

Researchers surprised by the brain benefits of cannabis usage in adults over 40

Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist, apocalypse linked to the 'end of modernity'

USS Preble Used Helios Laser to Zap Four Drones in Expanding Testing

Show HN: Animated beach scene, made with CSS

An update on unredacting select Epstein files – DBC12.pdf liberated

Was going to share my work

Pitchfork: A devilishly good process manager for developers

You Are Here

Why social apps need to become proactive, not reactive

How patient are AI scrapers, anyway? – Random Thoughts

Vouch: A contributor trust management system

I built a terminal monitoring app and custom firmware for a clock with Claude

Tiny C Compiler

Y Combinator Founder Organizes 'March for Billionaires'

Ask HN: Need feedback on the idea I'm working on

OpenClaw Addresses Security Risks

Apple finalizes Gemini / Siri deal

Italy Railways Sabotaged

Emacs-tramp-RPC: high-performance TRAMP back end using MsgPack-RPC

Nintendo Wii Themed Portfolio

"There must be something like the opposite of suicide "

Show HN: lambda-nat-proxy – Serverless proxy using Lambda and UDP NAT punching

Comments